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Benefits
There are many
benefits to a mechatronics solution. These benefits include:
1) Enhanced
features and functionality
2) More user-friendly
3) Precision control
4) More efficient
5) Lower cost
6) Flexible design (reprogrammable)
7) More reliable
8) Smaller
9) Safer
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FEATURES
Incorporating a PIC® microcontroller into a design allows for
expanded features and functionality. A mechanical design typically
provides only one function. Designing with a microcontroller offers
the flexibility of adding features like LCD displays, lighting LEDs,
a user interface, programmability, safety features, speed control,
soft-startup . . . . the list goes on and on. Modern washing machines,
for instance, offer many features over the mechanical designs of
old. These features include a display that gives cycle information
as well as providing a stain removal guide. These machines use microcontrollers
to more effectively (and efficiently) vary the speed of different
cycles based on the content being washed.
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USER-FREINDLY
Mechatronics solutions also appeal to consumers because they are
more user-friendly. The improvements in automotive technology over
the past decades is evidence of this fact. Power windows, power
door locks, keyless entry, and numerous other conveniences testify
to the fact that consumers prefer mechatronic solutions.
PRECISION
CONTROL
Flow rate, speed, position, and any number of other variables can
be controlled precisely with a microcontroller. In many applications,
purely mechanical solutions are not as efficient, nor as precise
as mechatronic solutions. Cruise control in an automobile is a great
example of how a mechatronic solution allows for precise control.
A microcontroller based solution will factor in many different variables
(i.e. velocity, acceleration, cumulative changes in velocity) in
order to give the car a smooth acceleration to the desired speed
as well as maintaining a constant velocity over varying load conditions.
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EFFICIENT
The efficiency of a system can be improved by adding intelligence
to the design. Certain portions of the system can be shut-off when
not in use or a microcontroller can make better use of the energy
available by offering the precision control described previously.
Techniques such as Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) can be used instead
of resistive elements to vary the voltage and current to a load,
thereby increasing the efficiency of the system.
LOWER
COST
In some cases, a mechatronic solution costs less than the alternative
mechanical solution. A complex mechanical solution may be simplified
using a microcontroller-based approach. Design time, product size,
and reliability can all be improved with a mechatronic solution.
All these factors impact the cost over the lifetime of a product.
FLEXIBLE
DESIGN
Design flexibility is a huge advantage to designing with a microcontroller.
The specifications of a product can change during the course of
its design. When a PIC MCU is used, the timing of a signal, the
sequence of events, or any number of software controlled parameters
can be changed quickly without the need for a product redesign.
This flexibility also allows the same hardware to be used in different
products. The software is simply changed to meet the needs of each
product.
INCREASED
RELIABILITY
Mechanical designs are prone to wear and tear over time. In many
situations a mechatronic solution is more reliable. A good example
of this is the odometer in your car. Mechanical odometers use a
direct drive system that consists of a flexible cable running from
the transmission to the odometer gage. The solution is unreliable
because the cable is prone to failure. The modern mechatronic solution
consists of an optical encoder and digital display, which increases
system reliability.
SMALLER
SIZE
Adding a microcontroller to a system may result in space savings.
Motor drive circuits, for instance, traditionally had to have over-sized
drive stages to handle in-rush current. In-rush current can be limited
and the size of the drive stage can be reduced by implementing soft-startup
using a microcontroller.
SAFER
Adding intelligence to a system makes it safer. Whether you add
an automatic shutdown to a coffee pot or sense when a system is
overheating, numerous safety checks can be easily added to a system
when a microcontroller is controlling the system.
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